Viking Mines (ASX:VKA) has achieved 53-fold upgrade for tungsten concentrate from metallurgical testwork using gravity separation at its Linka Project in Nevada.
Metallurgical testwork produced 63.6% tungsten trioxide concentrate from an initial 1.2% tungsten trioxide feed material using low-cost gravity separation methods.
CEO Julian Woodcock says using the simple physical properties of scheelite, Viking has achieved a “premier upgrade” for the project.
“This demonstrates we can produce a high-value, offtake-grade product without the need for the complex or expensive chemical processing that plagues many other critical mineral projects,” Woodcock says.
“By focusing on a gravity-led flowsheet, we are drastically lowering our potential capital costs and putting Viking on a much faster track to construction and cash flow in the heart of Nevada.”
Cleaner gravity separation testwork achieved 42.4% recovery into the premium 63.6% tungsten trioxide concentrate, with a further 46% recovery achieved when combined with middlings for a 56.4% tungsten trioxide concentrate.
Initial flotation testwork on gravity tailings recovered an additional 37.8% tungsten trioxide, increasing combined gravity and flotation recovery to 83.8%.
Viking says cleaner flotation testwork has started to generate saleable concentrate from the flotation stage to complement the gravity concentrate.
The company is advancing its metallurgical testwork program with additional testing underway using Sepro Falcon Concentrators to test recoveries of scheelite fines within the process flowsheet.
Viking will also conduct gravity separation tests at coarser grind sizes, cleaner flotation testwork, and complete an analysis of detailed mineralogy results in the near future.
The company plans to establish design specifications for a rapid-start gravity circuit to support development studies.
Maiden drilling at Linka is expected to begin in Q2 2026, subject to permitting approvals.
Viking Mines is a diversified explorer and developer, focused on tungsten, gold, and vanadium projects.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Viking Mines
